


An Otherwise Disappointing Life

by TurianTaylor



Category: Original Work
Genre: ABA 'Therapy', Ableism, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Character, Closeted Character, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Inspired by Real Events, Lesbian Character, Mental Institutions, Nonbinary Character, Other, PDA, Pathological Demand Avoidance, Song Lyrics, non speaking character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:26:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurianTaylor/pseuds/TurianTaylor
Summary: Raika has just turned eighteen. She's lived in and out of different children's home the majority of her life in Shropshire, UK. The only thing she has of her family's is her surname, and the knowledge they couldn't deal with her being autistic. Tricked into a car ride to Wales with the promise of a beach trip after viewing a potential college, Raika is institutionalised agaisnt her will. This story is loosely based on real events, and will follow Raika's journey - from the past with Helene, to the "Care" Home she finds herself in now, dreaming of escape.Though her life's been far from easy, Raika will have many more obstacles to overcome in the future - avoiding Global catastrophe and the end of the world amongst them.
Relationships: Raika Robinson/Helene Bolton
Kudos: 3





	An Otherwise Disappointing Life

**Author's Note:**

> TW's for this chapter - albeism, implied ABA 'Therapy', institutionalisation of autsitic character.
> 
> Hey, as I said in the tags, this story is (Loosely!) Based on real events, and I'm hoping writing it will be cathartic for me. The first chapter certainly has been!  
> I just want to say that for every kudos I get on this fic, I'll donate £0.05 to the Scottish-based Charity Tiny Changes (A mental health charity created in memory of Frightened Rabbit singer Scott Hutchinson), up to the value of £50, although I'll have to donate in dribs and drabs lol!  
> TW's will be at the beginning of each chapter, and if there's something you find triggering, skip it and I'll provide a clean, hopefully non-triggering transcipt at the beginning of the next chapter as to what happened in the previous one.  
> Each chapter will be named after a song, all credits go the orginal artist for the title of their song! xoxo L

Honestly, you don’t know what you’re doing here. You’re not used to being in new places, and you’ve never coped well with it. You flap your hands quietly at your side, stimming to soothe yourself.

“Stop that!” A voice snaps sternly at you. “Do you want to ruin your chances of coming to this college? For Christ’s sake, Raika. Act like a normal human being for a change.” You slow your stimming to appease your youth worker, but can’t truly stop it. She glares at you out of the corner of her eyes, but quietly brushing your fingers together instead of flapping your hands seems to have calmed her. It’s strange that she thinks you’re the one with emotional issues.

“Mrs Spire? You and Raika can come in now, Mr. Dabney is ready for you.” the receptionist calls out. The lights are so bright in here that they’re causing you pain, but you enter the room anyway, blinking hard, so that you can focus. The first thing you see is a thin man, who looks like he’s been grabbed at both ends and stretched like glue. He smiles widely at the pair of you, and Spire smiles back at him, not seeming to notice it doesn’t reach his eyes. You both sit down on a bench facing his desk,

“Ah, Mrs Spire!” he gushes, oozing charm towards your youth worker. “Julia. May I call you Julia?” She looks at him, simpering, flapping her eyelashes at the man.

“Of course you may, Mr Dabney! Can I say how nice it is to finally meet you!”” You watch, seemingly indifferent from the outside, as this extremely fake man wins over the woman in charge of your wellbeing and care. “Please, Julia! Call me Leonard, I insist. It’s positively lovely to meet you too, can I just say your profile picture on the Teaching For Teens Website does not do you justice, you’re even more lovely in person!” She giggles. You’d roll your eyes if you had the energy.

“And Raika!” he gushes, turning to you, plastering a smile on his face like he’s talking to a child. “Of course it’s brilliant to meet you too. I had so been looking forward to our meeting!” You say nothing, as usual, though even if you had you doubt he would have noticed or listened. Almost immediately, he turns back to Spire. “So Julia,” he smarmily says, running his fingers through his mane of hair that you have to assume has more effort put into it than his college that you’ve come to look at. “How exactly can we help? You said in your emails and calls to my secretary that Raika has some behavioural issues, doesn’t speak, mood swings, and such the like. Those are all of course things our college can help work on, but I was wondering what you think is the main issue to work on?”

“She definitely needs teaching to speak.” Spire says in a rush. “Sometimes she understands what you’re saying, but long conversations like this she wouldn’t know where to start. The mood swings, as you said, definitely an issue. She’s never hurt anyone like some of our other residents, but the incessant flapping is a nuisance. She’ll never get a job like that.” You’d love to tell Spire that you could do her job a damn sight better than her, purely due to her lack of care and empathy, but as usual, the words don’t come out. “And…” She sneaks a look at you, then lowers her voice, hissing quietly at the Principal like God Himself will overhear about your deviancy, and she’ll be caught in the fireburst as He smites you from Heaven down to Hell. “We’ve caught her… well. I told you about the other girl, it’s not really Raika’s fault that she took advantage of the situation, but it’s better that get stamped out sooner rather than later. You know what it can be like in college and university, should she ever get that far, I would hate the poor girl to be corrupted.” Dabney’s expression darkens, although neither of them spare you a look, degenerate that you are.

“Yes, not to worry Julia, that kind of thing won’t be allowed to happen here, we’ll keep a very close eye on her. Thankyou for informing me when you did, it’s always better not to have to go in blind, as they say!” He claps his hands together, and you visibly wince.

“Ah, yes, that reminds me Leonard, before I forget. She doesn’t like loud noises, she tends to spook at them.” What does she think you are, a horse? Dabney nods gravely.

“Not to worry, Dear Julia, I’m sure we’ll be able to train that out of her very soon. Have you got her case?”

Case? Surely she can’t mean you’re staying here, this cage for problem children and teenagers that purports to be a college?

“Yes, it’s in the car. Will you see her to her room, or should I stay a little longer?”

“It’s better that you go sooner, my dear, rather than prolong the leaving for the poor girl.” He rests a sweaty hand on your back. “Say goodbye, Raika! Or wave at least!” He says, with a smile as fake as his conscience to accompany this cruel betrayal. Tears are starting to threaten to erupt from your eyes, and the quiet stimming you had been doing until now ups in its intensity, hands flapping by your head to curb your distress. You start to rock on the bench, curled up in a ball. How could you have trusted this woman, why didn’t you take the chance to bolt when you could? Not that it would have done much good, they always seem to find you. You start to sob violently, and Spire, Damn her, she doesn’t even look back as she walks out the door. Dabney has removed his hand from your back as soon as she left, as if whatever affliction he feels you have is catching. “Jared!” He calls out down the corridor, as you cry louder at the unwelcome noise. “Jared, Sheila, will you come here now? Bring the needle, I think she needs a shot, she won’t stop screaming. Now, please.” As Spire leaves, not a kind woman by far, but the only stability throughout your childhood, you call out the first word you’ve let them hear you speak in your entire life.

“Helene!” You cry between sobs. “Helene, Helene, Helene, Helene!” Dabney has left the room, and another two people come in, one short but well-built woman who looks like she could wrestle the Rock and come away laughing, and one skinny, bespectacled hipster - looking dude. You jerk away instinctively as they get closer, never having been one for having strangers invade your personal space, whether or not they’re holding a hypodermic syringe.

“She does talk!” the woman exclaims. “Well that’ll make our jobs easier at least. Are you going to restrain her, Jared, or shall I?” Before she’s finished her sentence, you bolt past her, through the previously closed and locked door, and into the corridor, pushing over a trophy case in order to secure your escape and safety. You’ve lost a shoe in the commotion, but right now that’s the least of your worries. You have to get out of here, you have to get back to Helene, that is if they haven’t moved her or taken her to a similar hellhole like this by now. You’d memorised the sound of the keypad on the locked door at the entrance on the way in, and thank the Gods, it takes you only a few tries to get the right code, much to Sheila and Jared’s surprise. You burst out of the door, to see a surprised Spire in the car park on your left pause, as she drags your heavy case full of things you couldn’t give less of a shit about - clothes and such the like. As far as you can tell, they didn’t even pack your ear defenders or walkman, telling you you ‘wouldn’t be long’, and ‘you’ll need to pay attention to the college staff Raika, you’re not a little girl anymore’. Fuck them. Fuck the lot of them - they think you can’t exist in this world, but the truth is that a world with people like that in isn’t a world you want to exist in.

Bolting to the right, away from Spire and the people who want to detain you, you don’t see the boy until it’s too late. He seems to be a detainee too of this vile place, and, not wanting to cause him more pain than he’s in already purely by being here, you screech to a halt so that you don’t run into him. That’s your first mistake… The second is that you don’t notice in your panic that Spire has apparently abandoned the case, and is attempting to hem you back into the entranceway, arms outstretched like she’s placating a dangerous animal. Your third and final mistake is that while you pause to reassess your options, eyeing Spire warily, one of two staff members who was with the boy has peeled off from him and the other Jailor. Turning away from Spire to make a break for it past her, and to freedom, you catch them behind you out of the corner of your eye, and barely have a chance to cry out before they jab you with the syringe. You slump to the floor in shock, and the jailor (A woman, petite, with light blonde hair and brown eyes, catches you before your face hits the gravel. The irony is, whatever was in that syringe has addled you - as you pass into something you wish was a little closer to unconciousness, she looks for a moment exactly like Helene.


End file.
